Whether out of fear of the firelight or because it never intended to harm anyone, the leopard lingered for a while before leaving.

Si Cheng didn't want to leave such a hidden danger on the mountain, so before the others could react, he raised his hand and fired two arrows in quick succession.

When the leopard was hit by the first arrow, it tried to fight back, but Si Cheng didn't give it that chance at all, and fired a fatal arrow that went straight through its eye.

Through his encounters with these animals, he realized that their eyes were their weak points; even if he couldn't kill them immediately, he could still cause some disturbance.

Si Cheng waited until the leopard fell down and found everyone else staring blankly at him. "What are you all standing there for? Get your protection ready. The other animals will definitely smell the blood. We're in for a tough fight."

At this point, everyone came to their senses. Their purpose in going up the mountain was to hunt more game to take back, as the village was counting on their game to prepare a large meal.

With the leopard as bait, its bloody scent gradually attracted other animals.

Soon, a fierce struggle for survival, a primal challenge, unfolded before them.

The first to run over was actually one of the leopard's own kind. It only glanced at the fire before biting the leopard's leg, intending to drag it away, though it was unclear whether it wanted to take it back as food.

Just as everyone was about to make a move, several more wolves surrounded it, eyeing it menacingly.

"It seems that the green lights that appeared on the mountain earlier were these wolves. I just don't know if they're all here?" This was the first time Yun Jianying had seen so many living wolves up close, and he couldn't help but feel a little nervous.

Hou Yunhai and the others remained calmer. "Whether they are or not, we can't let them leave."

Zhao Dongwei counted the number of weapons, and realized that this wasn't even enough for the two of them to fight one head-on. "Brother, save these for us to practice with this time."

Hearing this, the others quickly added, "Brother Cheng, you can keep an eye on things for us, so we'll have something to talk about when we get back."

"Actually, I have a better suggestion that will make you the center of attention," Hou Yunhai said, jokingly staring at the target opposite him.

"If you were carrying machetes and charging in at that moment, you would instantly become heroes."

The villager standing next to him immediately shook his head, "I can't be a hero. Actually, it's not bad to just stay here and be a coward."

However, his words immediately drew rebuttals from others: "When we talk about this, it doesn't necessarily mean we're cowards. We call this a strategy, not that we're timid or afraid of trouble."

"Exactly, if you can easily win, why bother trying to be a hero?"

"We're going up the mountain to hunt some wild game, but this meat doesn't seem very tasty; it's dry and tough." Zhao Dongwei thought of the wolf meat they brought back last time and felt a bit disgusted.

The group originally came up the mountain to hunt wild boars or wild goats, but now these carnivores have run into them, and they have to deal with them. It seems that this trip up the mountain will have to end prematurely again.

Yun Jianying retorted, "Don't complain when you have food. Luckily, we haven't gone too far this time. Even if we turn back tomorrow, it won't take much time. If all else fails, we can go to other mountains and we'll surely find something."

As they were talking, the fight on the other side was also coming to an end. The lone leopard was no match for the wolves and was soon bitten in the throat, left to be dragged along.

After losing their prey, they set their sights on the crowd behind the fire. If it weren't for their fear of the fire, they would have already pounced on them.

At this point, the villagers of Pinghe Village wouldn't listen to any morals. At the village chief's command, their crossbows fired, and the animals fell to the ground before they could even make a move.

Some lucky ones, seeing the situation was turning against them, began to retreat, but Si Cheng and the monkey, who had been holding the line, didn't give them the chance and immediately fired two more arrows.

Instead of immediately going out to clean up the battlefield, everyone waited quietly.

This area is probably the territory of these two animals, as there was little activity in the latter half of the night.

Yun Jianying yawned. "It's already dawn. It seems that's all we have. We can only go down the mountain today."

After daybreak, everyone could see more clearly that the six large wolves and two leopards were their spoils from the previous night.

With these measures in place, the village's collective weddings are basically guaranteed.

Wu Tianxiang asked Si Cheng, "Shall we go back?"

Si Cheng looked at the pile of prey outside and nodded. "Let's go back. It's not good to bring these back in."

Although some people could carry the prey back first, not many people were brought into the mountains this time. If some people were sent back first, the fighting strength would be reduced by more than half, and if any emergencies occurred, I might not be able to protect everyone.

This was the fastest they ever came down the mountain, completing the round trip in just two days and bringing back so much prey.

Not long after they returned to their village, Captain Liu from Xinshan Village also brought Ma Tao to Pinghe Village.

Since Ma Tao brought supplies to Pinghe Village last time and exchanged a large number of medicinal herbs, most of the villagers have come to know him and are not surprised by his arrival, assuming that he needs to exchange some urgently needed medicinal herbs again this time.

But what he said surprised everyone present.

“That won’t do. We can’t be of that much help. You should find someone else.” Before Si Cheng could speak, Yun Xun objected.

Ma Tao also felt that his request was a bit excessive, but he still tried to persuade them, saying, "We have no choice. The city's security is already short-handed, and now with so many accidents, we simply can't keep up."

Si Cheng shook his head and refused, "Then you can organize the villages. We have our own farm work to do, and we can't go around doing free labor for you."

Ma Tao quickly waved his hand, "This doesn't mean you're working for free. All the profits will belong to you, and we will also provide some support."

“We don’t need these,” Yun Xun shook his head again, “I believe you saw what we’ve gained in the past two days when we first entered the village. There’s no need for us to continue taking risks outside.”

Captain Liu chimed in, "We had no choice. You have more experience in this area than we do, and with Village Chief Si with us, everyone's safety is more guaranteed."

The monkey also stood up to object, saying that this was not the time to take on everything. "Captain Liu, I don't like what you're saying. Just because Brother Cheng is more capable doesn't mean we deserve to be exploited. We also have our own homes to protect. If we leave our homes for a long time, who will guarantee the safety of the village?"